Part 3
Reaching the hospital, the storm hadn’t let up any so AJ tried to park as close as possible. Before he got out, he turned to the girl and said, "I’ll carry you in."
She didn’t say a word but AJ could tell by her eyes that she understood and was okay with it. Quickly getting out, he circled the car and opened her door. Gathering her in his arms, he lifted her out of the car and kicked the door shut.
The girl held on to his neck and tucked her head against his chest for protection from the rain. Something about this man told her that she was safe despite the tattoos that adorned his arms and the general ‘bad boy’ appearance. His eyes were so tender and he smelled good. His voice, raspy and soulful, was gentle and kind. The way he held her against his body….she knew he wanted to help her, protect her. Maybe he could.
She was like a feather in his arms but the fact that she was holding on to him, her head tucked against him for protection, was what touched him. He knew he was gaining ground with her. Maybe he could get her to talk.
Inside the emergency room, AJ spotted a nurse who directed him into an examining room. As he set the girl on the table, he explained what had happened and the nurse moved to her to get her vitals.
Seeing this strange lady and having AJ move away from her, the girl panicked and tried to get away from the nurse.
"Hey, it’s okay," reassured AJ. "I’m right here."
Her eyes were wide with fear and the nurse asked, "What’s your name?"
"She doesn’t talk," said AJ.
"Did she have any ID on her?"
"None."
"We’re going to have to call the police and report her as a ‘Jane Doe’."
The mention of police sent the girl into a panic and she tried to get up. Unfortunately, she collapsed. AJ moved quickly when he realized what was happening and caught her. Carefully, he placed her back in the bed and sat beside her.
Brushing the dirty strands of her light brown hair back, AJ looked at her closely for the first time in light. She was dirty and her eyes were dull but there was still something about her that told him she was more than just some ‘Jane Doe’ off the streets.
“Listen to me,” he said softly. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you and I’m not going anywhere. You need to let them check you out, make sure there’s nothing seriously wrong.”
The girl looked into his eyes and placed her hand on his. It was her way of letting him know that she’d do what he wanted.
Without taking his eyes off this woman who held him captivated, he said, “Do what you need to do.”
AJ continued to hold the girl’s hand watching her closely. “What is your name?” he whispered. Met by silence, he went on, “Okay, if you won’t tell me, I’m just gonna have to give you a name.”
As he sat there, the power went off but came back on immediately. She squeezed his hand in fear but once again, she didn’t make a sound.
“It’s okay. It was just the power flickering but the hospital has a generator. I know what I’m gonna call you…Stormy…to remind me of the night I found you.”
As AJ held Stormy’s hand, the doctor came in to examine her. To keep her distracted, AJ talked. He told her about his dogs, his mom, his tattoos, and as he was beginning to tell her about his music, her eyes fluttered shut. In no time at all, Stormy was asleep.
The doctor said quietly, “While she’s asleep, we need to do a pelvic exam, to be sure she hasn’t been raped. You’ll need to step out for it.”
“What if she wakes up? She’ll be scared.”
“No chance of her waking up. We slipped a sedative in the IV. She’ll sleep for a while. The police are here and need to talk to you.”
AJ looked at Stormy. “Is she going to be okay?”
“I think she’ll be fine. It appears that she’s merely hungry and dehydrated. The IV is nothing more than fluids.”
“Then why the pelvic exam?”
“Just to be sure. We have to do this in all our ‘Jane Doe’ cases. Go on and when you’re done with the police, you can come back in here to be with her.”
AJ didn’t want to leave her but with the reassurance that she would sleep for a while, he left.
